Quotes
- “The Bristol of 2002 is alive and well and kicking like a can-can girl.” — Sunday Telegraph
- “Bristol is by far and away south western England’s largest and coolest city.” — Lonely Planet Guide to Great Britain (2001)
- “The best kept secret since the latest Harry Potter plot…” — The Times (2001)
Attractions
- Avon Gorge
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge and SS Great Britain
- Clifton Village
- Watershed and Arnolfini arts centres; craft shops, cafés, bars and restaurants of the redeveloped docks
- Georgian architecture: Victoria Square, Berkeley Square, Queen’s Square, King Street
- Around Bristol University: Wills Building, Victoria Rooms, Park Street, Queen’s Road
- Cabot Tower for views across the city
Overview
Bristol, population 400,000, is a lively university city where elegant Georgian streets, a dramatic natural gorge, a revitalised docklands arts district, a bustling commercial centre and a village atmosphere all sit within a compact radius. The city’s maritime heritage is illustrious, though its industrial past includes its significant role in the slave trade. In recent years Bristol has been transformed by commercial success in computing, finance and media, and by the cultural energy emerging from the redevelopment of its once-derelict docks.
Although rainfall is high, Bristolians enjoy the countryside of Avon and Somerset, close access to Devon and Cornwall’s wild coastline, the beaches and mountains of Wales via the Severn Bridge, and proximity to Bath and London. As in many major cities, homelessness and some notorious housing estates present challenges, but visitors exercising standard urban awareness will find much to enjoy in this attractive, hilly and richly textured city.
History
Bristol has been a trading hub since Anglo-Saxon times, when the settlement known as Brig-stow — “the place of the bridge” — traded with South Wales and Ireland. Over time merchants expanded to Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean and Iceland, later supporting early New World colonisation.
In 1497 John Cabot, financed by Bristol merchants, sailed from Bristol aboard The Matthew in search of a westward route to the Spice Islands. Instead he reached Newfoundland, a milestone commemorated first by Cabot Tower in the 19th century and later by a reconstructed Matthew that repeated the voyage 500 years later.
By the 17th century Bristol had a thriving non-conformist community. Quakers built a meeting house, and in 1739 John Wesley constructed the “New Room,” now the world’s oldest surviving Methodist chapel.
The Slave Trade and Georgian Bristol
In the 18th century, Bristol’s merchants grew wealthy by financing trade and privateering. Elegant Georgian houses reflect this prosperity. Yet a significant portion of this wealth derived from the triangular slave trade. African slaves were purchased with manufactured goods, transported under horrific conditions to the Caribbean or Americas, and exchanged for commodities — sugar, cocoa, tobacco, cotton and more — that were then brought back to Bristol and processed for sale.
Few enslaved people arrived directly in Bristol, but many street names, including Whiteladies Road and Blackboy Hill, date from this era.
Industrial Shifts and the Victorians
The port declined in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The curved River Avon was difficult to navigate, and extreme tides left ships vulnerable. Wealthy families moved uphill to Clifton.
Victorian Bristol is epitomised by the works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Temple Meads Station, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the iron ship SS Great Britain. The city also witnessed the UK’s bloodiest 19th-century civil unrest in 1831, when rioters held the city for two days until cavalry restored order.
Famous Bristolians
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel — engineer behind the Clifton Suspension Bridge and SS Great Britain
- John Cabot — discovered Newfoundland one year before Columbus
- Daniel Defoe — author of Robinson Crusoe, frequented the Llandoger Trow
- Samuel Plimsoll — campaigner for maritime safety; creator of the Plimsoll Line
- Cary Grant — Hollywood actor, born Archibald Leach in Bristol
Lifestyle and Bristol University
Bristol is home to two universities: Bristol University, founded in 1876 and the first in the UK to admit women on equal terms, and the University of the West of England. With 12,000 students and centrally located faculties, Bristol University plays a vital role in city life. The Wills family endowed the university and commissioned the dramatic Wills Memorial Tower, where exams and graduation ceremonies take place.
The university attracts many students from the independent sector, though efforts continue to broaden access. Groups may enjoy learning about the UK university system — tuition, grants, accommodation, and the structure of GCSEs and A-levels.
Bristol Specialities to Take Home
- Bristol Blue Glass — created by adding cobalt oxide to lead glass; still traditionally produced
- Harvey’s Bristol Cream — world-famous sherry brand developed in the early 19th century
The West Country
The wider West Country — Avon, Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset — formed the ancient kingdom of Wessex under King Alfred. The area remains predominantly rural. Somerset still produces traditional “scrumpy” cider, once paid to farm labourers as part of their wages. Nearby Cheddar Gorge provided the ideal conditions for maturing the cheese that now bears its name.
This region is also rich in legend and literature: Thomas Hardy’s novels depict rural Dorset, and King Arthur, perhaps based on a historical Romano-British leader, is rooted in this landscape. Bristol also hosts a major international hot-air balloon festival each August.
Science: The Clifton Suspension Bridge
Brunel’s audacious 702-ft bridge design was initially rejected by Thomas Telford, who insisted that 600 ft was the maximum feasible span. A later committee ranked it second, but Brunel convinced them to select his plan. Construction began in 1831 but was repeatedly halted by financial problems and civil disorder, and Brunel died before the bridge’s completion in 1864.
Spectacle and drama have long surrounded the bridge. A suspended basket once carried paying passengers across the gorge during construction. In 1885 Sarah Ann Henley survived a suicide attempt when her voluminous skirts acted like a parachute. In 1911 a Frenchman flew beneath the bridge, and in 1957 a local pilot repeated the stunt — fatally crashing afterwards.
The bridge is especially striking at night when illuminated. Note that the roadway is three feet higher at the Clifton end than at the Leigh Woods end.
SS Great Britain
Launched in 1843, Brunel’s SS Great Britain was revolutionary: 100 ft longer than any contemporary vessel, equipped with waterproof bulkheads, iron wire rigging, iron lifeboats, a balanced rudder and a patented distance-measuring log. Nicknamed the “Greyhound of the Seas,” she carried emigrants worldwide, served as a Crimean War troop ship, and transported the first English cricket team to Australia.
After grounding near Cape Horn in the 1870s, she was retired to the Falkland Islands, where her remains were repurposed for decades. Salvaged in the 1970s, she returned to Bristol for restoration.
The Arts
Bristol hosts a major BBC production centre, renowned particularly for its natural history programming. Aardman Animations — creators of Wallace and Gromit — are based here, with multiple Oscars to their name. Theatre thrives as well: the Hippodrome stages major musicals, and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Royal, opened in 1776, is Britain’s oldest working theatre.
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery offers collections spanning fine art, archaeology and natural history. The Arnolfini and Watershed arts centres showcase cutting-edge contemporary arts. The city’s influential music scene produced Massive Attack and Portishead, with Bristol’s nightlife considered among the UK’s most dynamic.
The Visit
Groups often explore Bristol in the evening. A suggested walking route begins at the redeveloped docks with their cafés, shops and arts venues. From there, climb steep Park Street, passing Bristol Cathedral and city council buildings at College Green.
At the top of Park Street stands the Wills Memorial Building. A short detour left leads to Berkeley Square, frequently used in period-drama filming. Nearby, Browns — formerly the University refectory — makes a pleasant place for refreshments. Continue along Queen Street to the Victoria Rooms, then follow Queen’s Road toward Clifton Village.
Clifton Village offers charming pubs, independent shops and restaurants. Continue to the Avon Gorge to view the Clifton Suspension Bridge; the terrace at the Avon Gorge Hotel provides excellent views.
Note: Small No. 8 and 9 buses connect Park Street and Clifton Village but are only suitable for individuals, not groups.